Minnie Dean was the first, and only, woman to be
executed in the history of New Zealand. She was executed by hanging.
Under the guise of helping poor young girls, this evil woman murdered
their children and took what little money they had to improve her own
lifestyle. At the time, a young woman becoming pregnant without a father
was severely stigmatized by society. This gave rise to a phenomenon
called “baby farming”, in which people would offer to take the children
and raise them for a moderate regular fee. Dean was one such farmer, but
rather than raising the children, she murdered them at the soonest
opportunity and kept the money. This was made possible because
“adopting” parents were not required to be registered by law. In many
cases the children simply vanished in to the homes of these “farmers”
never to be seen again. Dean murdered at least 3 children, but it is
likely that there were many more whose bodies were not recovered.

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